Employee Retention of Bio-Rad Laboratories : Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb), was founded in 1952 in Berkeley, California. The company was initially engaged in the development and production of specialty chemicals used in biochemical, pharmaceutical, and other life science research applications. Today, Bio-Rad manufactures and supplies life science research, healthcare, analytical chemistry, and other markets with products and systems used to separate complex chemical and biological materials and to identify, analyze, and purify their components[1].
Bio-Rad operates in two industry segments: Life Science Research and Clinical Diagnostics. Both segments operate worldwide. Bio-Rad’s customers include hospitals, universities, major research institutions, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Bio-Rad’s headquarters are in Hercules, California. The company has offices and facilities worldwide and more than 6,500 employees. Bio-Rad had revenues of more than $1.7 billion in 2008. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since October 24, 2008. Before that, Bio-Rad was listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Bio-Rad Laboratories Benefits Philosophy
Bio-Rad's strength is the diversity of its people. That's why we offer a Benefits Program that allows you to select from a variety of options to best meet the needs of you and your family.
Bio-Rad's benefits offerings is a quality benefits program that:
Offers affordable choices from a comprehensive set of plans
Covers the full range of life-stage needs
Provides basic security from catastrophic loss
Encourages wellness
Cultivates a partnership between you and Bio-Rad
Allows Bio-Rad to remain competitive in the marketplace
Bio-Rad's Complete Benefits Program
Overview
All active, regular status employees who work at least 20 hours per week are eligible for Bio-Rad's Benefits Program, unless specified otherwise. Also, subject to plan rules, your legal spouse, eligible domestic partner, and financially dependent who relies on you for more than 50% support, unmarried children are eligible for medical, dental, vision, and certain survivor benefits. Ineligible for coverage, however, are: independent contractors; leased, temporary and casual employees; and dependents that are full-time members of the armed forces. Please note, if you are covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, your benefits will differ slightly.
Healthcare Benefits
Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage Plans that help you meet your healthcare needs are the foundation of Bio-Rad's Benefits Program. You can enroll in any or all of the plans without enrolling in the others. In addition, Bio-Rad provides, at no cost to you, an Employee Assistance Program to enhance your mental and emotional well-being. As a Bio-Rad employee you will be asked to contribute a small amount of your pretax income toward healthcare coverage for you and your family.
Medical
Bio-Rad strives to offer choices in how and where you receive medical services — and in what you pay for them. In most locations, Bio-Rad provides four medical plans to choose between:
The Low Deductible Plan
The Medium Deductible Plan
The High Deductible Plan
A Health Maintenance Organization
The Low, Medium, and High Deductible Plans
The Low, Medium, and High Deductible Plans use a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) to give you and your family coverage for a wide range of medically necessary services including doctor's office visits, emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, prescriptions, annual physicals, and much more.
You may choose from carefully selected PPO network providers, and the plans will pay 90% of your covered medical expenses after you pay a deductible. You also have the option of seeing a provider who is not part of the network. If you choose a non-network provider, the plans will pay 50% of covered expenses after you pay a deductible.
If you live outside the United States, you will be covered by the Out of Area Plan, which pays 80% of eligible expenses after you pay a deductible.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
Employees in most locations can also choose an HMO for medical coverage. HMOs emphasize preventive care, and most require that you select a Primary Care Physician (PCP) who will coordinate all your medical care.
HMOs are very cost-effective because, generally, most eligible services are covered at 100% after a small copayment. However, you must receive all nonemergency services from HMO providers.
The chart below shows the HMOs available to Bio-Rad employees.
HMO Location
Kaiser North Northern California
Kaiser South Southern California
HMO Blue Massachusetts
Group Health Option, Inc. Washington
Dental
The Bio-Rad Dental Plan is provided through Delta Dental, a leading network of dentists. In general, the plan covers most necessary services including preventive and diagnostic care, crowns, bridges, oral surgery, orthodontia, and more — subject to plan maximums.
As with the Low, Medium, and High Deductible Plans, you have the choice of selecting care in or out of the network, and your benefit level will reflect that choice. If you use network providers, you will not have to pay a deductible and your benefit will be higher than if you go outside the network.
Vision
The Vision Service Plan (VSP) provides comprehensive vision care, including examinations and corrective materials for a minimal copayment. You may use network or non-network providers.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The EAP provides confidential no-cost counseling you and your dependents can turn to when life sends challenges your way. Available 24 hours a day, EAP's professional counselors can help you with personal problems, bereavement, financial difficulties, substance abuse, and so forth. You can also obtain referrals to dependent care and get access to a variety of information available online.
Survivor Benefits
To help with the task of planning for your family's security, Bio-Rad provides Basic Life, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, and Business Travel Accident Insurance at no cost to you. If you need additional coverage, Additional Life and Voluntary Accident Insurance are available to you and your eligible dependents at competitive group rates.
Income Protection
Sometimes illness or injury is unavoidable. If an illness or injury keeps you away from work for an extended period of time, Bio-Rad's Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Plans are designed to replace a portion of your income.
Short-Term Disability
The Company-paid Short-Term Disability (STD) Insurance can replace up to 90% of your earnings to a maximum weekly benefit of $3,460 if you are unable to work due to a non-industrial illness, injury, or pregnancy. Benefits begin after 7 consecutive days of disability and can continue for up to 90 days. California employees are required to participate in State Disability Insurance (SDI) as well.
Long-Term Disability
If your disability continues beyond 90 days, you may be eligible for company-paid Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance. LTD can replace up to 66 2/3% of your monthly earnings, to a maximum monthly benefit of $15,000. Your LTD benefits can continue until you are able to return to work or reach age 65.
The Audit Committee may retain any independent counsel, experts or advisors (accounting, financial
or otherwise) that the Audit Committee believes to be necessary or appropriate. The Audit Committee
may also utilize the services of the Company’s regular legal counsel or other advisors of the Company.
The Company shall provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Audit Committee, for
payment of (a) compensation to any registered public accounting firm engaged for the purpose of
preparing or issuing an audit report or performing other audit, review or attest services for the
Company (any such firm, an “Independent Auditor”); (b) compensation to any advisors employed by
the Audit Committee and (c) ordinary administrative expenses of the Audit Committee that are
necessary or appropriate for carrying out its duties. The Audit Committee may conduct or authorize
investigations into any matters within the scope of the powers and responsibilities delegated to the
Audit Committee.
The responsibilities of the Audit Committee shall be to:
• Oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Company and audits of the
Company’s financial statements, and review the adequacy of the Company’s system on
internal control and monitoring compliance with Company policies and guidelines.
• Maintain direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of
the work of any Independent Auditor engaged by the Company, including resolution of any
disagreements between the Company’s management and the Independent Auditor regarding
financial reporting. The Independent Auditor shall report directly to the Audit Committee.
• At least annually, review the independence and quality control procedures of the Independent
Auditor and the experience and qualifications of the Independent Auditor’s senior personnel
3
that are providing audit services to the Company. In conducting its review, the Audit
Committee shall: (i) obtain and review a report prepared by the Independent Auditor
describing (a) the auditing firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (b) any material
issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the auditing
firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the
preceding five years, respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the auditing
firm, and any steps taken to deal with any such issues; (ii) discuss with the Independent
Auditor its independence from the Company, and obtain and review a formal written
statement prepared by the Independent Auditor describing all relationships between the
Independent Auditor and the Company, consistent with Independence Standards Board
Standard 1, and consider the impact that any relationships or services may have on the
objectivity and independence of the Independent Auditor; (iii) confirm with the Independent
Auditor that the Independent Auditor is in compliance with audit firm or audit partner rotation
requirements, prohibitions on employment of former Independent Auditor employees and
prohibitions on compensation for audit partners established by the SEC; (iv) consider whether
the Company should adopt a rotation of the annual audit among independent auditing firms;
and (v) if applicable, consider whether the Independent Auditor’s provision of any permitted
information technology services or other non-audit services to the Company is compatible
with maintaining the independence of the Independent Auditor.
• Before the Independent Auditor is engaged by the Company or its subsidiaries to render audit
or non-audit services, the Audit Committee shall pre-approve the engagement. Audit
Committee pre-approval of audit and non-audit services will not be required if the engagement
for the services is entered into pursuant to pre-approval policies and procedures established by
the Audit Committee regarding the Company’s engagement of the Independent Auditor,
provided the policies and procedures are detailed as to the particular service, the Audit
Committee is informed of each service provided and such policies and procedures do not
include delegation of the Audit Committee’s responsibilities under the Exchange Act to the
Company’s management. The Audit Committee may delegate to one or more designated
Members the authority to grant pre-approvals, provided such approvals are presented to the
Audit Committee at a subsequent meeting. If the Audit Committee elects to establish preapproval
policies and procedures regarding non-audit services, the Audit Committee must be
informed of each non-audit service provided by the Independent Auditor. Audit Committee
pre-approval of non-audit services (other than review and attest services) also will not be
required if such services fall within available exceptions established by the SEC.
• Meet with management, the Independent Auditor and the internal auditor in connection with
each annual audit to discuss the scope of the audit, the procedures to be followed and the
staffing of the audit.
• Review and discuss with management and the Independent Auditor: (i) major issues
regarding accounting principles and financial statement presentations, including any
significant changes in the Company’s selection or application of accounting principles, and
major issues as to the adequacy of the Company’s internal controls and any special audit steps
adopted in light of material control deficiencies; (ii) any analyses prepared by management or
the Independent Auditor setting forth significant financial reporting issues and judgments
made in connection with the preparation of the Company’s financial statements, including
analyses of the effects of alternative GAAP methods on the Company’s financial statements;
and (iii) the effect of regulatory and accounting initiatives, as well as off-balance sheet
structures, on the Company’s financial statements.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Bio-Rad offers two Flexible Spending Accounts — one for healthcare and one for dependent care — that offer tax savings by letting you pay for qualified healthcare and child/elder care expenses on a pretax basis.
Paid Time Off
Time off for recreation, recuperation, or caring for a family member is essential to successfully balance your work and life needs. Bio-Rad recognizes this important need by giving you flexibility in time away from work through the Paid Time Off (PTO) program.
Bio-Rad's PTO program combines accrual, sick leave days, and three floating holidays into a single time-off "bank". You can use this time in your "bank" when and how you need it, subject to your manager's approval. Your PTO time accrues on a biweekly basis throughout the year based on length of service. If you leave Bio-Rad, your unused PTO will be paid out to you.
Holidays
Bio-Rad provides eight paid holidays per year.
Educational Benefit
Bio-Rad supports your professional development by reimbursing up to $4,000 per year for qualified educational expenses.
The 529 College Savings Plan
The 529 Plan is a great way for you to save for a loved one's higher education through payroll deductions. Earnings on the money you save are Federal tax deferred and Federal tax free for qualified withdrawals. You can control your savings by selecting to invest in a variety of funds. In addition, the plan has several other features to help you plan for higher education expenses.
Group Legal Plan
When you need an attorney, the Group Legal Plan puts qualified legal help within reach. You can speak with a Plan Telephone Attorney or visit the attorney of your choice — network or non-network. Covered services include legal advice, will preparation, durable power of attorney, consumer and property protection, adoption proceedings, dissolution of marriage, Federal income tax guidance, and many other common legal needs.
Group Long-Term Care
Most people know someone who needs long-term care for needed assistance with personal daily activities such as bathing or dressing. Many of us have already provided this kind of personal care to a loved one. And many of us will one day need this kind of care ourselves. This is why Bio-Rad sponsors a voluntary group long-term care plan through John Hancock for you and/or your eligible relatives. Generally, this policy is to provide a simple and affordable solution to cover services received in your own home, conventional nursing home, and other types of care facilities.
Specialty Insurance
You have access to a wide array of specialty insurance services through Answer Financial, Inc. Are you paying too much for your homeowner's insurance? Do you have a boat or classic car that you need to insure? Answer Financial does the legwork for you by providing you with competitive quotes and side-by-side comparisons for auto, home, and life insurance from over 150 top-rated companies.
Bio-Rad operates in two industry segments: Life Science Research and Clinical Diagnostics. Both segments operate worldwide. Bio-Rad’s customers include hospitals, universities, major research institutions, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Bio-Rad’s headquarters are in Hercules, California. The company has offices and facilities worldwide and more than 6,500 employees. Bio-Rad had revenues of more than $1.7 billion in 2008. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since October 24, 2008. Before that, Bio-Rad was listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Bio-Rad Laboratories Benefits Philosophy
Bio-Rad's strength is the diversity of its people. That's why we offer a Benefits Program that allows you to select from a variety of options to best meet the needs of you and your family.
Bio-Rad's benefits offerings is a quality benefits program that:
Offers affordable choices from a comprehensive set of plans
Covers the full range of life-stage needs
Provides basic security from catastrophic loss
Encourages wellness
Cultivates a partnership between you and Bio-Rad
Allows Bio-Rad to remain competitive in the marketplace
Bio-Rad's Complete Benefits Program
Overview
All active, regular status employees who work at least 20 hours per week are eligible for Bio-Rad's Benefits Program, unless specified otherwise. Also, subject to plan rules, your legal spouse, eligible domestic partner, and financially dependent who relies on you for more than 50% support, unmarried children are eligible for medical, dental, vision, and certain survivor benefits. Ineligible for coverage, however, are: independent contractors; leased, temporary and casual employees; and dependents that are full-time members of the armed forces. Please note, if you are covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, your benefits will differ slightly.
Healthcare Benefits
Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage Plans that help you meet your healthcare needs are the foundation of Bio-Rad's Benefits Program. You can enroll in any or all of the plans without enrolling in the others. In addition, Bio-Rad provides, at no cost to you, an Employee Assistance Program to enhance your mental and emotional well-being. As a Bio-Rad employee you will be asked to contribute a small amount of your pretax income toward healthcare coverage for you and your family.
Medical
Bio-Rad strives to offer choices in how and where you receive medical services — and in what you pay for them. In most locations, Bio-Rad provides four medical plans to choose between:
The Low Deductible Plan
The Medium Deductible Plan
The High Deductible Plan
A Health Maintenance Organization
The Low, Medium, and High Deductible Plans
The Low, Medium, and High Deductible Plans use a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) to give you and your family coverage for a wide range of medically necessary services including doctor's office visits, emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, prescriptions, annual physicals, and much more.
You may choose from carefully selected PPO network providers, and the plans will pay 90% of your covered medical expenses after you pay a deductible. You also have the option of seeing a provider who is not part of the network. If you choose a non-network provider, the plans will pay 50% of covered expenses after you pay a deductible.
If you live outside the United States, you will be covered by the Out of Area Plan, which pays 80% of eligible expenses after you pay a deductible.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
Employees in most locations can also choose an HMO for medical coverage. HMOs emphasize preventive care, and most require that you select a Primary Care Physician (PCP) who will coordinate all your medical care.
HMOs are very cost-effective because, generally, most eligible services are covered at 100% after a small copayment. However, you must receive all nonemergency services from HMO providers.
The chart below shows the HMOs available to Bio-Rad employees.
HMO Location
Kaiser North Northern California
Kaiser South Southern California
HMO Blue Massachusetts
Group Health Option, Inc. Washington
Dental
The Bio-Rad Dental Plan is provided through Delta Dental, a leading network of dentists. In general, the plan covers most necessary services including preventive and diagnostic care, crowns, bridges, oral surgery, orthodontia, and more — subject to plan maximums.
As with the Low, Medium, and High Deductible Plans, you have the choice of selecting care in or out of the network, and your benefit level will reflect that choice. If you use network providers, you will not have to pay a deductible and your benefit will be higher than if you go outside the network.
Vision
The Vision Service Plan (VSP) provides comprehensive vision care, including examinations and corrective materials for a minimal copayment. You may use network or non-network providers.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The EAP provides confidential no-cost counseling you and your dependents can turn to when life sends challenges your way. Available 24 hours a day, EAP's professional counselors can help you with personal problems, bereavement, financial difficulties, substance abuse, and so forth. You can also obtain referrals to dependent care and get access to a variety of information available online.
Survivor Benefits
To help with the task of planning for your family's security, Bio-Rad provides Basic Life, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, and Business Travel Accident Insurance at no cost to you. If you need additional coverage, Additional Life and Voluntary Accident Insurance are available to you and your eligible dependents at competitive group rates.
Income Protection
Sometimes illness or injury is unavoidable. If an illness or injury keeps you away from work for an extended period of time, Bio-Rad's Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Plans are designed to replace a portion of your income.
Short-Term Disability
The Company-paid Short-Term Disability (STD) Insurance can replace up to 90% of your earnings to a maximum weekly benefit of $3,460 if you are unable to work due to a non-industrial illness, injury, or pregnancy. Benefits begin after 7 consecutive days of disability and can continue for up to 90 days. California employees are required to participate in State Disability Insurance (SDI) as well.
Long-Term Disability
If your disability continues beyond 90 days, you may be eligible for company-paid Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance. LTD can replace up to 66 2/3% of your monthly earnings, to a maximum monthly benefit of $15,000. Your LTD benefits can continue until you are able to return to work or reach age 65.
The Audit Committee may retain any independent counsel, experts or advisors (accounting, financial
or otherwise) that the Audit Committee believes to be necessary or appropriate. The Audit Committee
may also utilize the services of the Company’s regular legal counsel or other advisors of the Company.
The Company shall provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Audit Committee, for
payment of (a) compensation to any registered public accounting firm engaged for the purpose of
preparing or issuing an audit report or performing other audit, review or attest services for the
Company (any such firm, an “Independent Auditor”); (b) compensation to any advisors employed by
the Audit Committee and (c) ordinary administrative expenses of the Audit Committee that are
necessary or appropriate for carrying out its duties. The Audit Committee may conduct or authorize
investigations into any matters within the scope of the powers and responsibilities delegated to the
Audit Committee.
The responsibilities of the Audit Committee shall be to:
• Oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Company and audits of the
Company’s financial statements, and review the adequacy of the Company’s system on
internal control and monitoring compliance with Company policies and guidelines.
• Maintain direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of
the work of any Independent Auditor engaged by the Company, including resolution of any
disagreements between the Company’s management and the Independent Auditor regarding
financial reporting. The Independent Auditor shall report directly to the Audit Committee.
• At least annually, review the independence and quality control procedures of the Independent
Auditor and the experience and qualifications of the Independent Auditor’s senior personnel
3
that are providing audit services to the Company. In conducting its review, the Audit
Committee shall: (i) obtain and review a report prepared by the Independent Auditor
describing (a) the auditing firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (b) any material
issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the auditing
firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the
preceding five years, respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the auditing
firm, and any steps taken to deal with any such issues; (ii) discuss with the Independent
Auditor its independence from the Company, and obtain and review a formal written
statement prepared by the Independent Auditor describing all relationships between the
Independent Auditor and the Company, consistent with Independence Standards Board
Standard 1, and consider the impact that any relationships or services may have on the
objectivity and independence of the Independent Auditor; (iii) confirm with the Independent
Auditor that the Independent Auditor is in compliance with audit firm or audit partner rotation
requirements, prohibitions on employment of former Independent Auditor employees and
prohibitions on compensation for audit partners established by the SEC; (iv) consider whether
the Company should adopt a rotation of the annual audit among independent auditing firms;
and (v) if applicable, consider whether the Independent Auditor’s provision of any permitted
information technology services or other non-audit services to the Company is compatible
with maintaining the independence of the Independent Auditor.
• Before the Independent Auditor is engaged by the Company or its subsidiaries to render audit
or non-audit services, the Audit Committee shall pre-approve the engagement. Audit
Committee pre-approval of audit and non-audit services will not be required if the engagement
for the services is entered into pursuant to pre-approval policies and procedures established by
the Audit Committee regarding the Company’s engagement of the Independent Auditor,
provided the policies and procedures are detailed as to the particular service, the Audit
Committee is informed of each service provided and such policies and procedures do not
include delegation of the Audit Committee’s responsibilities under the Exchange Act to the
Company’s management. The Audit Committee may delegate to one or more designated
Members the authority to grant pre-approvals, provided such approvals are presented to the
Audit Committee at a subsequent meeting. If the Audit Committee elects to establish preapproval
policies and procedures regarding non-audit services, the Audit Committee must be
informed of each non-audit service provided by the Independent Auditor. Audit Committee
pre-approval of non-audit services (other than review and attest services) also will not be
required if such services fall within available exceptions established by the SEC.
• Meet with management, the Independent Auditor and the internal auditor in connection with
each annual audit to discuss the scope of the audit, the procedures to be followed and the
staffing of the audit.
• Review and discuss with management and the Independent Auditor: (i) major issues
regarding accounting principles and financial statement presentations, including any
significant changes in the Company’s selection or application of accounting principles, and
major issues as to the adequacy of the Company’s internal controls and any special audit steps
adopted in light of material control deficiencies; (ii) any analyses prepared by management or
the Independent Auditor setting forth significant financial reporting issues and judgments
made in connection with the preparation of the Company’s financial statements, including
analyses of the effects of alternative GAAP methods on the Company’s financial statements;
and (iii) the effect of regulatory and accounting initiatives, as well as off-balance sheet
structures, on the Company’s financial statements.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Bio-Rad offers two Flexible Spending Accounts — one for healthcare and one for dependent care — that offer tax savings by letting you pay for qualified healthcare and child/elder care expenses on a pretax basis.
Paid Time Off
Time off for recreation, recuperation, or caring for a family member is essential to successfully balance your work and life needs. Bio-Rad recognizes this important need by giving you flexibility in time away from work through the Paid Time Off (PTO) program.
Bio-Rad's PTO program combines accrual, sick leave days, and three floating holidays into a single time-off "bank". You can use this time in your "bank" when and how you need it, subject to your manager's approval. Your PTO time accrues on a biweekly basis throughout the year based on length of service. If you leave Bio-Rad, your unused PTO will be paid out to you.
Holidays
Bio-Rad provides eight paid holidays per year.
Educational Benefit
Bio-Rad supports your professional development by reimbursing up to $4,000 per year for qualified educational expenses.
The 529 College Savings Plan
The 529 Plan is a great way for you to save for a loved one's higher education through payroll deductions. Earnings on the money you save are Federal tax deferred and Federal tax free for qualified withdrawals. You can control your savings by selecting to invest in a variety of funds. In addition, the plan has several other features to help you plan for higher education expenses.
Group Legal Plan
When you need an attorney, the Group Legal Plan puts qualified legal help within reach. You can speak with a Plan Telephone Attorney or visit the attorney of your choice — network or non-network. Covered services include legal advice, will preparation, durable power of attorney, consumer and property protection, adoption proceedings, dissolution of marriage, Federal income tax guidance, and many other common legal needs.
Group Long-Term Care
Most people know someone who needs long-term care for needed assistance with personal daily activities such as bathing or dressing. Many of us have already provided this kind of personal care to a loved one. And many of us will one day need this kind of care ourselves. This is why Bio-Rad sponsors a voluntary group long-term care plan through John Hancock for you and/or your eligible relatives. Generally, this policy is to provide a simple and affordable solution to cover services received in your own home, conventional nursing home, and other types of care facilities.
Specialty Insurance
You have access to a wide array of specialty insurance services through Answer Financial, Inc. Are you paying too much for your homeowner's insurance? Do you have a boat or classic car that you need to insure? Answer Financial does the legwork for you by providing you with competitive quotes and side-by-side comparisons for auto, home, and life insurance from over 150 top-rated companies.
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